Good morning, my brothers and sisters in Christ. Today, I am going to continue my sermon series on “Why Are We Here?” Last week, I laid the groundwork by talking about my experiences in a couple of large non-denominational churches and the importance of having a unified mission–a unified understanding of why we are here. I promised that I would not give you a mission because that was something that we had to arrive at together, but I also promised that I would share with you several things that I believed were non-negotiable when it came to why the church was here. These things must inform our mission as we move into the future.
Today, I must begin by asking for your forgiveness because as a good Christian, particularly as a good Lutheran Christian, I should begin with the Scriptures and then move into other avenues in regards to why the church is here. But I am not going to do that. We will most definitely get to the Bible and what it has to say about the church, but I wanted to start in a bit of a different place today. I wanted to start with the Lutheran confessions, particularly the Augsburg Confession.
Now, how many of you have even heard of the Augsburg Confession? Not many. That’s not surprising. It’s not a document that we generally reference much in our worship or even our Christian Education. The Augsburg Confession was written during the time of the Reformation in the 1500's as Protestants were trying to define themselves and their beliefs to the civil and church authorities. They were trying to help those authorities see how their stance was in accordance with the Bible and how they were not a threat to civil order. The theology and practice is rich, and it has stood the test of time. How so? Because we and most every other Lutheran congregation directly reference it in our Constitution and By-Laws. Did you know that? Did you know that it serves as one of the foundational documents for what it means to be a Lutheran church here in Cat Spring? Let me read to you what our Constitution says about it:
C2.05.This congregation accepts the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel, acknowledging as one with it in faith and doctrine all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession.
C2.06. This congregation accepts the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord, namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise, the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid interpretations of the faith of the Church.
C2.07.This congregation confesses the Gospel, recorded in the Holy Scripture and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the Church for God’s mission in the world.
Did you catch all of that? Did you catch and see how the Augsburg Confession, while not on the same level as Scripture, is a very, very important document in helping us understand who we are and why we are here? It is indeed central to our identity as Lutherans, and it has something to say about why we are here as the church.
In article seven, these words appear, “It is also taught among us that one holy Christian church will be and remain forever. This is the assembly of all believers among whom the Gospel is preached in its purity and the holy sacraments are administered according to the Gospel.” So we see two reasons for the church’s existence in this statement: the preaching of the Gospel, and depending upon which translation you use, this is also stated as the preaching of the Word, as well as the administration of the sacraments. Today, we are going to try and cover the preaching of the Word.
We are here to preach the Word. Now, when you hear me say preach the Word, what do you automatically think? The Bible. Right. That’s what we mostly think when we hear someone say that we preach the Word, but let me try and expand your thinking just a bit because the Word doesn’t simply mean the Bible.
Do you remember the beginning words of the Gospel of John? Let me remind you. “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was in the beginning with God. 3All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being 4in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. 5The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Now, we are going to skip down a few verses where we then read, “14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” So, what is the Word, or better yet, who is the Word here in the book of John? That’s right, it’s Jesus. Jesus is the Word.
But, we cannot stop there. It might make it easy if we did, but we’ve got to go one step further. We’ve got to understand something more about the Word of God because the Word of God is incredibly rich. When you read through the Bible, you see something quite incredible about God. You see that God is a God who speaks. God is not silent. He has spoken in the past. He speaks in the present. And in the future, there will be a time when He will intimately speak with those who love Him. One of the tasks for the church today is to discern the Word of God as it is spoken to the world today and bring that word to the world.
And so, we have outlined what the Word of God is, and this matches what is in our Constitution as a church: The Word is the Holy Scriptures; The Word is Jesus Christ; the Word is God’s Word spoken through the church to the world today. And it is our job; it is our calling; to preach that Word: to preach the Bible; to preach Jesus; to preach God’s message to our community.
This is not a calling to be taken lightly. It is of infinite importance. Why? I don’t know if you know this or not, but there is a suicide epidemic in our nation right now. Those who study the numbers tell us that there has been a huge up-tick in the numbers of people taking their own lives. I have noticed this on a real personal level because in the past three years or so, I have counted at least five of my friends on Facebook who have committed suicide. These folks all come from a town of about 2300, and to me, that is a huge disproportion. Why so many suicides? Why the increase?
Now, it is true that chronic depression can lead to suicide, but the statistics that I have read indicate that this accounts for just about half of suicides. What about the rest of those? Two articles that I have read helped give me a bit of insight into this. In the first one, Clay Routledge, professor of psychology from North Dakota State University argued, “that the suicide crisis in the USA is in part a crisis of meaning. Recent changes in American society, greater detachment and a weaker sense of belonging, are increasing our existential despair. Although we try and distract ourselves (most of the time nowadays successfully) we realize that everyone we know and care about, including the person we care about the most, ourselves, will die. Despite our best attempts at avoiding it, we understand that pain and sorrow is part and parcel of life. But what is the point of life? One way in which we keep this existential anxiety quiet, Routledge argues that we “must find and maintain perceptions of our lives as meaningful”. We seek not only to live, but to have a meaningful existence. And when we don’t feel like our lives matter, then we are psychologically vulnerable.”
So, if you don’t feel like your life is meaningful, you are vulnerable. The second article I read was in Sports Illustrated. It had to do with budding star quarterback Tyler Hilinski’s suicide and the family’s desperate attempts to understand why it happened. There is a lot in the article to take in, but one thing struck me because it was repeated over and over and over: Tyler thought he was Superman. Tyler thought he was supposed to pull off the spectacular play every time. Tyler thought he should lead his team to victory and be heroic. But, he found out that he wasn’t Superman. He found out that he couldn’t always pull off the victory. After one particularly difficult game where he suffered a huge hit and a crushing loss, folks said he wasn’t the same. The fact that he couldn’t be what he wanted to be seemed to have a profound effect on him. Faced with limitations, he had a difficult time coping.
It seemed to me that Tyler was finding his meaning in things that were beyond his capability to grasp. It seems to me that a lot of folks are trying to do such things. I understand very well what is behind that. I had a lot of hopes and dreams about what my life would look like at this point and time, but very, very few of those things have come to fruition. If I were basing the meaning of my life on those things, I would probably be very depressed as well, but fortunately, I have found meaning elsewhere. I have found meaning in Jesus.
The Greek word used in John chapter 1 is logos. It is a word with deep, deep meaning in the ancient world. The ancient Greek philosophers oftentimes used it when talking about the meaning of life; the meaning of existence; the reason for everything. It is no stretch to think that John, when he was writing the introduction to this gospel had this in mind. So, let’s read that introduction once more with that understanding. “In the beginning was the reason for everything. The reason for everything was with God. The reason for everything was God...The reason for everything became flesh and lived among us.” Jesus is the reason for everything. Jesus gives meaning. Jesus gives hope. Jesus gives assurance. The question is: how?
And this goes directly to the understanding of the Gospel. Now, I know it is fashionable in some circles to use the saying attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” I used to believe it. But I don’t any more. Because I know now that the Gospel is news. You cannot do news. You can only share news. Now, this doesn’t mean you can’t package the news up in doing good deeds. You don’t tell a hungry person that Jesus loves them without giving them food, and you don’t just give them food and expect them to understand that Jesus loves them. Proclaiming the Gospel involves loving our neighbors, but too often these days much of the church is guilty of either/or instead of both/and.
I mean, face it, anyone can and does acts of kindness. The Hindu does acts of kindness. The atheist does acts of kindness. The Muslim does acts of kindness. If the Gospel is simply acts of kindness, then everyone is proclaiming the Gospel. And it would stand to reason, if everyone is proclaiming the Gospel, then why is there a lack of meaning? Why is the suicide rate continuing to climb?
The answer is because the Gospel isn’t just about doing nice things for others. It’s about God’s redemption of our fallen condition through Jesus’ death and resurrection. You see, the Gospel tells us that we are all corrupted by sin. We are not Superman. We cannot be Superman. We fall far short of the glory of God. This means that we will never be like Tyler Hinski. We will never believe that we have the capacity of doing everything right and making our team win all the time. We know we are limited. We know we are not perfect. We can grapple with and understand the trials of life including losing. Now, if we stopped here, that would be a recipe for despair. Imperfection rules the day. Sin actually wins. But that is not the case because Jesus acts to redeem our sin. Jesus acts to redeem our imperfection. On the cross, Jesus takes our sin into himself and defeats it. And then Jesus gives us His righteousness. Jesus gives us His glory. We are clothed with Christ. Now, this doesn’t mean that everything turns out perfectly for us in this life. No. We know this all too well, but what this does mean is solidified in the resurrection. For in the resurrection every evil that was done is undone. Every wound is healed. Every evil is made good. Darkness is changed into light. Sickness is changed into health. We are reminded that God will work to do this in our lives. God will transform everything in His time and bend everything toward our good. This means we have hope.
Yet, there is a bit of a caveat to this, but it is an important caveat. This only happens for those who trust in Jesus and His actions and not our own. This only happens for those who do not try to work out their own salvation, but for those who believe their salvation is won for them on the cross. For when we put our trust in God, we change allegiances. We no longer live for ourselves, we live for God. We seek God and His will in all that we do. And this gives our lives meaning. We know what our purpose is. We know that we are to seek God and His will in our lives. We know that we seek to grow in our faith. We know we are to grow in our knowledge of God. And we know that we are called to bring as many people to Jesus as we possibly can. We know we are to share the good news of Jesus. We are to preach the Gospel.
And so you see, I hope, why I started with the preaching of the Gospel. One of the fundamental reasons and non-negotiable reasons the church is here is to proclaim it because through it we come to understand our limitations. We come to understand our imperfections. But we also come to understand the love of God. We come to understand what He has done in Jesus in the cross and resurrection. We come to place our trust in Him and seek His will in all things. We come to understand through Him how we have purpose and meaning, and in a society that is fast losing meaning and seeking perfection, we have a very, very important message to bring. May we remember how important proclaiming the Gospel is to our mission. Amen.
Showing posts with label meaning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meaning. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
Monday, May 2, 2016
You Were Born for...
There is a Facebook meme that I have seen several times pop up in my feed that says, “You were born to do more than just work, pay bills, and then die.” I would agree wholeheartedly. But it begs the question: just what were you born to do? That is the million dollar question that millions of individuals ask themselves on a regular basis. Humanity has a deep longing to have an answer to that question: why was I born? What is my purpose? Why am I even here? Let’s consider a couple of alternatives for just a moment.
First, let’s take the path of the atheist. For those who believe that this universe is all that there is, ultimately, there is no purpose. There is no meaning. There is no reason for existence. Now, this does not mean that atheists don’t have some sense of purpose for their lives; it doesn’t mean that they don’t get some sense of personal meaning about things–I mean, I have come in contact with several atheists who indeed have some sense of momentary purpose that drives them in life. But I am not talking about a fleeting sense of purpose governed by my circumstances in life at any given moment. I am talking about an ultimate sense of purpose that goes beyond my existence today. Ultimately, atheism cannot give you such a sense of purpose that is larger than a given moment in time. Why do I say this? Well, think about this: do you remember any relative of yours who lived 500 years ago? Do you think anyone will remember you 500 years from now? More than likely, not. Do you think anyone will remember some random act of kindness you perpetuated even 50 years from now? I mean unless you are massively famous, only those immediately affected will even care. And let’s shift the time line even further down the road–a long way down the road–billions of years down the road, in fact.
Scientists who study the stars tell us that in a few billion years, our sun will begin expending its energy and expanding. When it does this, it will unleash a fiery hell upon earth burning everything we know or have ever known into dust and ash. This is the end result of everything we have ever done; all our great accomplishments; all our moral advances; dust and ash consumed with a burning flame. So, let me ask you: if this is the ultimate end of all things, is there anything that really makes life worth living other than simply living for the moment? Is there any higher purpose then? I mean, why not simply enjoy life for the little bit of time we have here because in the very long run, it will not make any difference at all–if there is nothing beyond this physical universe.
But if there is something...
That changes the outcome.
Let me try to explain. First off, Christianity believes that there is a Creator who is beyond this physical universe. It also states that this Creator is eternal or has existed forever. This Creator exists as a relationship: a Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, this Creator/God entered into this world to help you know your ultimate purpose and why you are here.
This is quite a daunting task to cover in the next several minutes as well as get us through today’s Gospel lesson from the 14th chapter of the book of Mark, but I hope everything comes together in the end and that we are not here all morning. :-)
Today’s text begins with Mark telling us about one of Jesus’ inner circle: the disciple named Judas–who in stark contrast to the woman who extravagantly gave a lavish gift to Jesus–seeks to take from Jesus. Judas, for whatever reason, decides to throw his lot with Jesus’ enemies and betray the Lord. We know that at least one of the motivations is money, and so after collaborating with the chief priests and the scribes, Judas seeks an opportunity to betray Jesus in secret.
Mark then sets the stage for this betrayal by telling us about the events that lead up to it–the institution of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. There are some things happening as the meal is being prepared that are quite interesting. We know that an arrest order has been issued for Jesus–the wording of this arrest order can actually be found in the Talmud or Jewish writings about the Torah. According to Jewish custom, the Passover meal must be eaten IN Jerusalem, so Jesus, to fulfill the law must go into the city to eat this important meal. By all accounts, Jesus has arranged it clandestinely–at least that is what a couple of the commentaries suggested. I mean, it makes sense. Jesus says, “Go into town and look for a man carrying a water jar.” This would be an anomaly. Men carried wine skins. Women carried water jars. I don’t know what that says about the difference between men and women, but gender roles aren’t the point. The point is, the man will be easy to spot. Then, there is a password of sorts. Jesus says, “You are to say, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’” Again, this has all the marks of intrigue. Sneak in; get everything ready and prepared; sneak out when all is over. And that’s what happened, to an extent. But there was some really, really important stuff that happened in the middle.
Jesus and His disciples gather in the room to eat the feast. After they had dined, Jesus says something astonishing; jaw dropping; something that I am positive sent all but one of the disciples reeling. “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me. One who is eating with me.” This was a repulsive thought.
According to Walter Liefield in the Expositor’s Bible commentary, “To betray a friend after eating a meal with him was, and still is, regarded as the worst kind of treachery in the Middle East.” This is why I say Jesus’ comment would have been a heart stopper. It was reprehensible to think this would happen. Everyone in the room asks, “Surely not I?” We know that at least one of those was putting on a good show. Jesus doesn’t back down. In fact, He narrows the playing field. “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me.” Again, Liefield sheds some light here,
“This clue does not specifically reveal the betrayer but emphasizes again that it is one who enjoys the closest relationship with Jesus–he even dips his bread into the same bowl with Him.”
Mark Edwards reflects upon Jesus’ actions here and then writes a powerful observation, “Jesus is not a tragic hero caught in events beyond his control. There is no hint of desperation, fear, anger or futility on his part. Jesus does not cower or retreat as plots are hatched against him. He displays, as he has throughout the Gospel, a sovereign freedom and authority to follow a course he has freely chosen in accordance with God’s plan. Judas and others may act against him, but they do not act upon him.”
I think Edwards is right on target with this statement because Jesus is going through this with eyes wide open. He knows what is going to happen. He understands what is going to happen, and He is not running for it. Neither is He acting with a sense of fatalism. He understands who He is and what He is here for. He has tried to make that known throughout the book of Mark, and He will do so once again.
For Jesus now does something that has become a staple in every church throughout the world. Different denominations disagree on exactly what is happening during this meal, but all celebrate it. Jesus takes bread, breaks it and says, “This is my body.” What is the significance of this?
Mark Edwards says, “When Jesus said, “This is my body,” the Aramaic behind body likely meant “my person”, “my whole being,” “my self.” Likewise, the Greek word behind “body” is not sarx (flesh) but soma “body” or perhaps “being.” All the activity signified by the verbs thus results in the gift of Jesus himself, wholly and without reserve in his self-offering for the disciples.” Jesus is giving Himself to His disciples.
And while the giving of one’s self to another carries significance, it is rammed home when Jesus takes a cup of wine, blesses it, has everyone drink from it, and then says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Every commentary I consulted tied this event back to Exodus chapter 24. Please listen to the story, “3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, ‘All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ 4And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord. 6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. 7Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ 8Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” What is so significant about this?
Let me read to you from Edwards once more, “In Hebrew thought the life of a creature resided in its blood; Jesus’ reference to the cup as “my blood” thus implies his very life...The “blood of the covenant” cannot be understood apart from the first covenant that Moses instituted by throwing blood on the people (Exodus 24:3-8). That covenant was sealed by necessity with the blood of a surrogate sacrificial animal. The new covenant here instituted must be sealed by Jesus’ blood; it is not simply thrown on the community as in Exodus 24:8, but imbibed into believers.”
So, what does this mean? This means that the God of the universe who has come down to earth gives His very self to us and pours His very life INTO us! The One who is ETERNAL, pours His LIFE INTO YOU! You who are mortal, imperfect, trying to make your way in this world and in this life. You who are sometimes cranky and angry and upset. You who are depressed and anxious and worrisome. You who are sometimes greedy and self-righteous. You who are going through the motions and longing for something more. Jesus pours His ETERNAL LIFE into you.
Why? Well, first, it’s because He loves you. Despite your frailties and failings, Jesus loves you. He loves you dearly. So much so that He is willing to die for you. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. You see, the world that God created will indeed come to an end. There is no doubt about that, but God loves the world. God loves you. He does not want to see you perish. So, He pours His eternal life into you so that you will not perish but cross over the threshold of time into eternity to be with Him forever.
Secondly, God wants you to sense that eternal life now. He wants you to know that there is so much more that what we see here. If you become so focused on the here and now and lose sight of eternity, then you will drive yourself crazy trying to do everything and see everything. You will eventually become exhausted and overwhelmed. You will reach the point where you know you simply cannot do and see everything, and you will become depressed. You will face your mortality and limitations with no hope. Yet, when you know that eternity dwells within you, you know that you have forever to see and do. You know there is more to the story. You know that beyond this life there is a different and better reality.
And finally, because you know this, you understand that it is your purpose to know that reality and make it known. It is your purpose to know God and make Him known. It is your purpose to seek the God who loves you deeply and then make Him known by loving others as you have been loved. And it doesn’t matter what kind of job you have or don’t have; who you marry or don’t marry; where you live; or any of these things we stress deeply over. Wherever we are; whoever we are around; whatever our lot, we have the privilege of telling others there is a God who loved this world and poured out Himself for it. We have the privilege of knowing Jesus and seeking to make Him known. We have the honor of being loved and then showing that love. Indeed we were made to do so much more than working, paying bills, and dying. We were made for eternal life. Amen.
First, let’s take the path of the atheist. For those who believe that this universe is all that there is, ultimately, there is no purpose. There is no meaning. There is no reason for existence. Now, this does not mean that atheists don’t have some sense of purpose for their lives; it doesn’t mean that they don’t get some sense of personal meaning about things–I mean, I have come in contact with several atheists who indeed have some sense of momentary purpose that drives them in life. But I am not talking about a fleeting sense of purpose governed by my circumstances in life at any given moment. I am talking about an ultimate sense of purpose that goes beyond my existence today. Ultimately, atheism cannot give you such a sense of purpose that is larger than a given moment in time. Why do I say this? Well, think about this: do you remember any relative of yours who lived 500 years ago? Do you think anyone will remember you 500 years from now? More than likely, not. Do you think anyone will remember some random act of kindness you perpetuated even 50 years from now? I mean unless you are massively famous, only those immediately affected will even care. And let’s shift the time line even further down the road–a long way down the road–billions of years down the road, in fact.
Scientists who study the stars tell us that in a few billion years, our sun will begin expending its energy and expanding. When it does this, it will unleash a fiery hell upon earth burning everything we know or have ever known into dust and ash. This is the end result of everything we have ever done; all our great accomplishments; all our moral advances; dust and ash consumed with a burning flame. So, let me ask you: if this is the ultimate end of all things, is there anything that really makes life worth living other than simply living for the moment? Is there any higher purpose then? I mean, why not simply enjoy life for the little bit of time we have here because in the very long run, it will not make any difference at all–if there is nothing beyond this physical universe.
But if there is something...
That changes the outcome.
Let me try to explain. First off, Christianity believes that there is a Creator who is beyond this physical universe. It also states that this Creator is eternal or has existed forever. This Creator exists as a relationship: a Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And, this Creator/God entered into this world to help you know your ultimate purpose and why you are here.
This is quite a daunting task to cover in the next several minutes as well as get us through today’s Gospel lesson from the 14th chapter of the book of Mark, but I hope everything comes together in the end and that we are not here all morning. :-)
Today’s text begins with Mark telling us about one of Jesus’ inner circle: the disciple named Judas–who in stark contrast to the woman who extravagantly gave a lavish gift to Jesus–seeks to take from Jesus. Judas, for whatever reason, decides to throw his lot with Jesus’ enemies and betray the Lord. We know that at least one of the motivations is money, and so after collaborating with the chief priests and the scribes, Judas seeks an opportunity to betray Jesus in secret.
Mark then sets the stage for this betrayal by telling us about the events that lead up to it–the institution of Holy Communion or the Lord’s Supper. There are some things happening as the meal is being prepared that are quite interesting. We know that an arrest order has been issued for Jesus–the wording of this arrest order can actually be found in the Talmud or Jewish writings about the Torah. According to Jewish custom, the Passover meal must be eaten IN Jerusalem, so Jesus, to fulfill the law must go into the city to eat this important meal. By all accounts, Jesus has arranged it clandestinely–at least that is what a couple of the commentaries suggested. I mean, it makes sense. Jesus says, “Go into town and look for a man carrying a water jar.” This would be an anomaly. Men carried wine skins. Women carried water jars. I don’t know what that says about the difference between men and women, but gender roles aren’t the point. The point is, the man will be easy to spot. Then, there is a password of sorts. Jesus says, “You are to say, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’” Again, this has all the marks of intrigue. Sneak in; get everything ready and prepared; sneak out when all is over. And that’s what happened, to an extent. But there was some really, really important stuff that happened in the middle.
Jesus and His disciples gather in the room to eat the feast. After they had dined, Jesus says something astonishing; jaw dropping; something that I am positive sent all but one of the disciples reeling. “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me. One who is eating with me.” This was a repulsive thought.
According to Walter Liefield in the Expositor’s Bible commentary, “To betray a friend after eating a meal with him was, and still is, regarded as the worst kind of treachery in the Middle East.” This is why I say Jesus’ comment would have been a heart stopper. It was reprehensible to think this would happen. Everyone in the room asks, “Surely not I?” We know that at least one of those was putting on a good show. Jesus doesn’t back down. In fact, He narrows the playing field. “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread into the bowl with me.” Again, Liefield sheds some light here,
“This clue does not specifically reveal the betrayer but emphasizes again that it is one who enjoys the closest relationship with Jesus–he even dips his bread into the same bowl with Him.”
Mark Edwards reflects upon Jesus’ actions here and then writes a powerful observation, “Jesus is not a tragic hero caught in events beyond his control. There is no hint of desperation, fear, anger or futility on his part. Jesus does not cower or retreat as plots are hatched against him. He displays, as he has throughout the Gospel, a sovereign freedom and authority to follow a course he has freely chosen in accordance with God’s plan. Judas and others may act against him, but they do not act upon him.”
I think Edwards is right on target with this statement because Jesus is going through this with eyes wide open. He knows what is going to happen. He understands what is going to happen, and He is not running for it. Neither is He acting with a sense of fatalism. He understands who He is and what He is here for. He has tried to make that known throughout the book of Mark, and He will do so once again.
For Jesus now does something that has become a staple in every church throughout the world. Different denominations disagree on exactly what is happening during this meal, but all celebrate it. Jesus takes bread, breaks it and says, “This is my body.” What is the significance of this?
Mark Edwards says, “When Jesus said, “This is my body,” the Aramaic behind body likely meant “my person”, “my whole being,” “my self.” Likewise, the Greek word behind “body” is not sarx (flesh) but soma “body” or perhaps “being.” All the activity signified by the verbs thus results in the gift of Jesus himself, wholly and without reserve in his self-offering for the disciples.” Jesus is giving Himself to His disciples.
And while the giving of one’s self to another carries significance, it is rammed home when Jesus takes a cup of wine, blesses it, has everyone drink from it, and then says, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many.”
Every commentary I consulted tied this event back to Exodus chapter 24. Please listen to the story, “3 Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice, and said, ‘All the words that the Lord has spoken we will do.’ 4And Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain, and set up twelve pillars, corresponding to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5He sent young men of the people of Israel, who offered burnt-offerings and sacrificed oxen as offerings of well-being to the Lord. 6Moses took half of the blood and put it in basins, and half of the blood he dashed against the altar. 7Then he took the book of the covenant, and read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient.’ 8Moses took the blood and dashed it on the people, and said, ‘See the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” What is so significant about this?
Let me read to you from Edwards once more, “In Hebrew thought the life of a creature resided in its blood; Jesus’ reference to the cup as “my blood” thus implies his very life...The “blood of the covenant” cannot be understood apart from the first covenant that Moses instituted by throwing blood on the people (Exodus 24:3-8). That covenant was sealed by necessity with the blood of a surrogate sacrificial animal. The new covenant here instituted must be sealed by Jesus’ blood; it is not simply thrown on the community as in Exodus 24:8, but imbibed into believers.”
So, what does this mean? This means that the God of the universe who has come down to earth gives His very self to us and pours His very life INTO us! The One who is ETERNAL, pours His LIFE INTO YOU! You who are mortal, imperfect, trying to make your way in this world and in this life. You who are sometimes cranky and angry and upset. You who are depressed and anxious and worrisome. You who are sometimes greedy and self-righteous. You who are going through the motions and longing for something more. Jesus pours His ETERNAL LIFE into you.
Why? Well, first, it’s because He loves you. Despite your frailties and failings, Jesus loves you. He loves you dearly. So much so that He is willing to die for you. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. You see, the world that God created will indeed come to an end. There is no doubt about that, but God loves the world. God loves you. He does not want to see you perish. So, He pours His eternal life into you so that you will not perish but cross over the threshold of time into eternity to be with Him forever.
Secondly, God wants you to sense that eternal life now. He wants you to know that there is so much more that what we see here. If you become so focused on the here and now and lose sight of eternity, then you will drive yourself crazy trying to do everything and see everything. You will eventually become exhausted and overwhelmed. You will reach the point where you know you simply cannot do and see everything, and you will become depressed. You will face your mortality and limitations with no hope. Yet, when you know that eternity dwells within you, you know that you have forever to see and do. You know there is more to the story. You know that beyond this life there is a different and better reality.
And finally, because you know this, you understand that it is your purpose to know that reality and make it known. It is your purpose to know God and make Him known. It is your purpose to seek the God who loves you deeply and then make Him known by loving others as you have been loved. And it doesn’t matter what kind of job you have or don’t have; who you marry or don’t marry; where you live; or any of these things we stress deeply over. Wherever we are; whoever we are around; whatever our lot, we have the privilege of telling others there is a God who loved this world and poured out Himself for it. We have the privilege of knowing Jesus and seeking to make Him known. We have the honor of being loved and then showing that love. Indeed we were made to do so much more than working, paying bills, and dying. We were made for eternal life. Amen.
Thursday, August 15, 2013
Why Deal with the "Big" Questions?
In the video I posted a link to yesterday, I was intrigued by one of the questions asked by a student during the Q&A time following the professors' presentations.
Paraphrased, the question basically boiled down to: why should we as students deal with these big questions now? Can't we just wait until we are settled down, working, married, raising children, etc.?
I actually was a bit disturbed by the profs' answer which basically boiled down to: you don't know when you are going to die. Better get this stuff handled now.
While essentially their statement is true--we do not know how much time we indeed have on this earth, I personally would handle the question in a much different manner. For the driving motive to then think on such matters revolves around fear. Get this thinking done, or you might be gone tomorrow! I'm not one who likes to use fear as the proper motivation.
To begin with, I would have gone after a major assumption made by the young woman--that she would eventually get "settled" into a job and family and suddenly find time to think about such matters. This is a major, major assumption--one that I believe is a fallacy. I do not know too many people who find much time once they begin careers and have children. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Once a person graduates from college and begins working and then starts a family, time shrinks. Work demands anywhere from 40-70 hours from a person per week. Children suck down much of the rest of that time. The desire to get away for any sort of down time means traveling on weekend getaways. Of course, as children grow, then comes school, homework, extra-curricular activities, weekend sports, etc. And after the kids move out, then comes time to volunteer at the things one is passionate about. Then comes retirement, and if the indications I get from most retired folks, they are actually more busy after they retire than when they were working! Time has a way of slipping away from us.
So, given that you may never find yourself "settled down", when is it time to think about the deep questions of life: why am I here? What is my purpose? Why do good? What do I do when I cannot find answers? What is the meaning of all of this? What am I willing to give up to be successful?
Is being busy just a way of avoiding such questions?
I have heard at least one person say they had no desire to examine these questions. This person was quite content to live an unexamined life. But I don't sense this to be the case for many others. There seems to be a general hunger for purpose, meaning, and authenticity at least in the U.S. And from what I have read and seen, people are having a horrid time discovering such things.
And I wonder if it's because they are too busy? I wonder if it's because there is tremendous pressure put on us to be moving, working, playing, shopping, engaged, connected, online, social networking, and what have you? I wonder if we have lost our ability to contemplate and think, lured by a false sense of identity found through cyberspace and technology?
I do not believe one finds meaning, purpose, and authenticity in the cyber-world. Nor do I believe it is found in staying busy. Or work. Or flying around from activity to activity. Or in having fun and partying. I believe it is found in allowing life's big questions to drive one to the ultimate source of reality--and I believe that ultimate source is the creator God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps one reason people fear those big questions is that eventually they are forced to deal with Jesus, and He's unsettling. He makes you confront your shortcomings, but He also gives you strength, purpose, meaning, and authenticity. If you want to wait until you have time to finally discover such things, then be my guest; however, if you want those things now and the fulfillment they bring now, don't wait. Take time to deal with the big questions.
Paraphrased, the question basically boiled down to: why should we as students deal with these big questions now? Can't we just wait until we are settled down, working, married, raising children, etc.?
I actually was a bit disturbed by the profs' answer which basically boiled down to: you don't know when you are going to die. Better get this stuff handled now.
While essentially their statement is true--we do not know how much time we indeed have on this earth, I personally would handle the question in a much different manner. For the driving motive to then think on such matters revolves around fear. Get this thinking done, or you might be gone tomorrow! I'm not one who likes to use fear as the proper motivation.
To begin with, I would have gone after a major assumption made by the young woman--that she would eventually get "settled" into a job and family and suddenly find time to think about such matters. This is a major, major assumption--one that I believe is a fallacy. I do not know too many people who find much time once they begin careers and have children. In fact, the opposite seems to be the case. Once a person graduates from college and begins working and then starts a family, time shrinks. Work demands anywhere from 40-70 hours from a person per week. Children suck down much of the rest of that time. The desire to get away for any sort of down time means traveling on weekend getaways. Of course, as children grow, then comes school, homework, extra-curricular activities, weekend sports, etc. And after the kids move out, then comes time to volunteer at the things one is passionate about. Then comes retirement, and if the indications I get from most retired folks, they are actually more busy after they retire than when they were working! Time has a way of slipping away from us.
So, given that you may never find yourself "settled down", when is it time to think about the deep questions of life: why am I here? What is my purpose? Why do good? What do I do when I cannot find answers? What is the meaning of all of this? What am I willing to give up to be successful?
Is being busy just a way of avoiding such questions?
I have heard at least one person say they had no desire to examine these questions. This person was quite content to live an unexamined life. But I don't sense this to be the case for many others. There seems to be a general hunger for purpose, meaning, and authenticity at least in the U.S. And from what I have read and seen, people are having a horrid time discovering such things.
And I wonder if it's because they are too busy? I wonder if it's because there is tremendous pressure put on us to be moving, working, playing, shopping, engaged, connected, online, social networking, and what have you? I wonder if we have lost our ability to contemplate and think, lured by a false sense of identity found through cyberspace and technology?
I do not believe one finds meaning, purpose, and authenticity in the cyber-world. Nor do I believe it is found in staying busy. Or work. Or flying around from activity to activity. Or in having fun and partying. I believe it is found in allowing life's big questions to drive one to the ultimate source of reality--and I believe that ultimate source is the creator God revealed in the person of Jesus Christ.
Perhaps one reason people fear those big questions is that eventually they are forced to deal with Jesus, and He's unsettling. He makes you confront your shortcomings, but He also gives you strength, purpose, meaning, and authenticity. If you want to wait until you have time to finally discover such things, then be my guest; however, if you want those things now and the fulfillment they bring now, don't wait. Take time to deal with the big questions.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)